


In Search of Unity

by oshjoshmgosh



Series: Gotta Catch 'em All: Naruto! [1]
Category: Naruto, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-09 03:27:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10402815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oshjoshmgosh/pseuds/oshjoshmgosh
Summary: One shot scenes from the larger story in progress that unites the Naruto and Pokemon worlds.Set in the Elemental Countries, with Pokemon in place of animals from the beginning of the world.Each scene is independent of the greater story.





	1. Sealing of Shukaku

“Lord Kazekage, you must come at once!” [Reto](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Reto) looked up from his papers as one of his top shinobi burst into his office, sweat darkening his veil and his breath heaving in his chest. “The beast has resurfaced and is on its way to Suna! It has already destroyed Chiryu.” The kazekage rose to his feet and swiftly leapt over his desk.

“Were there any survivors?”

“Most of them, actually.” The man replied as he turned to lead Reto out. “They saw him coming and began evacuation before sending the raven. It is why the village was only mostly destroyed; the beast gave up when it realized no one was there.” He nodded and fell silent as he ran through contingencies in his mind.

The [One-tails](http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/naruto/images/9/99/Shukaku.png/revision/latest?cb=20140916210030) was too powerful to consider even trying to send any of his lesser forces against. With the beast’s affinities matching his own, the Kazekage felt capable of defending himself, but little else. If he wanted to kill the beast, that would be a different story; his first advisor was a Lightning specialist who would be more than capable of aiding him.

No. He wanted to capture and contain the beast, possibly to use in the future as a bargaining tool or a weapon.

“Call for[ Shamon](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Shamon); I need his skill with sealing and containment. Tell him to bring a vessel strong enough to seal the beast into once I have weakened it.” The man nodded and flickered away to carry out his task. Reto could feel the chakra of the beast from here, the malevolent energy washing over his senses as a warning to stay away.

He ran forward until the sand cloud signaling the beast’s movements came into view.

After only a minute had passed the lumbering form of the tanuki was visible, its massive leaps carrying it ever closer to the village he had toiled to raise from chaos. Reto’s hands flew through a short series of signs. “Wind style,” he muttered, “Concussive fists!” Throwing his arms forward he allowed the pent up chakra to travel down them and explode out toward the beast.

Unprepared for the concentrated chakra, the invisible cannonball took the One-tailed beast in the face mid leap. It howled as it was hurled into a backward spin, striking the ground and rolling through the sand to a halt. “Kazekage!” It growled, the vibrations travelling through the sand and stirring up eddies around Reto’s feet. Another string of hand signs was the kazekage’s only response.

“Earth style: Porcupine barrage!” He pressed his hands into the sand and sent the new attack toward the prone beast. More prepared, however, the tanuki displayed surprising agility and was able to lift himself and leap out of the way of the stone spikes that would have impaled it from below. Leaving the spikes as they were the man immediately transitioned to another attack. “Air bullet!”

The small punch of air caught the beast in the arm as it landed, knocking it around only slightly but tearing a hole through the limb. It howled as the bullet passed through it and exploded out the other side, sand and blood tracing its trajectory. Another growl rumbled through the sand and the kazekage was forced into evasive action as it began to twist in an attempt to grab him.

“Now it’s play time, kazekage!” The tanuki warbled, lunging toward him as the hole in its arm knit closed. Summoning up his own cloud of sand, Reto caught himself in mid-air and flew above the reaching tendrils of the beast’s sand.

Minutes passed as the kazekage launched attack after attack at the One-tailed beast, but nothing seemed to phase it for very long. “It seems that it is time to step up my game.” As his nimbus deftly avoided the tanuki’s barrages, Reto bit his thumb and pressed it beneath his feet. “Summoning jutsu!” His cloud was obliterated as steel coalesced beneath his feet, his flight halting as his summons took form. He barked out an order before the summoning cloud had even cleared. “Mega-punch, eleven o’clock!” Without hesitation a massive, iron-clad fist lashed out in the designated direction, quickly meeting a sandy face.

The tanuki was hurled backward by the sudden blow, unable to dodge the massive fist that had materialized from thin air.

With a brief reprieve, Reto addressed the great mountain of metal beneath him.

“[Lord Aggron](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/aggron-mega.jpg), thank you for coming, and I apologize for not giving you advanced notice.” He leapt forward to stand on the tip of the great metal spike protruding from an enormous nose, in sight of two blue eyes larger than his bed.

“Well, if it isn’t Reto, the little scamp I hear founded a country in the desert!” The deep, booming voice was tinged with the screech of metal as the monster beneath him spoke. “Dealing with the Tanuki once again, I see!” The eyes peered past him to the beast he had just struck, which was slowly lifting itself to its feet to evaluate the new player in their game. “You do know that his sand will hinder my movements.” Reto nodded.

“I do. I can protect you from his sand if you can handle the rest.” Aggron released a booming laugh and settled onto all fours in preparation to charge.

“It has been too long since I fought someone my size! Keep that cloying dirt away from me and I’ll hand you its barely-breathing body on a platter!” With that proclamation the massive steel pokemon kicked off, lumbering forward and slowly gaining speed.

Almost immediately tendrils of sand began to rise from the ground in an attempt to ensnare and bury the ruler of Steel Kingdom, but the kazekage had been prepared for that. Using his own ability to control sand he deflected each assault, taking a position on top of Aggron’s head in order to see everything clearly.

“Horn Cannon!” Aggron roared as he charged, lowering his head to aim at the beast. Reto felt the steel beneath his feet quiver and lurch as it shifted, allowing the two horns on Aggron’s head to separate from his massive bulk. The separation was accompanied by an explosion that rattled his bones, launching the horns faster than he could track at the tanuki. Its eyes widened as it realized it could not dodge the spikes in time, the horns drilling into and through the sandy body, tearing gaping wounds in the beast’s flesh and hurling him backward once again. Its scream tore at Reto’s ears as it crashed to the ground.

“Magnetic Well!” A deep hum took the place of the quivering beneath Reto’s feet. He did not allow himself to be distracted from deflecting the sand that still strove to ensnare the Lord of Metal, but he could see the horns suddenly curve up into the air from the distance and circle back toward them. He felt his own kunai and senbon also moving of their own volition, caught in the magnetic field that Aggron was generating to control his spikes like ninja wire. The horns circled back and whistled past the duo before arcing high into the air once again. Aggron continued his accelerating charge toward the tanuki.

The beast itself was struggling to its feet, the two jagged holes in its body leaking blood and sand and slowly closing. “Sand Coffin!” Responding to the words and the feel of immense chakra flooding toward them, Reto ran through a series of hand signs. A wall of sand rose up around them and curled rapidly inward to crush them.

“Wind style: Great Breakthrough!” He cried, chakra forcing an explosion of wind away from them, tearing through the wall of sand and obliterating it before it could bury them. Swinging his arms behind him, he threw the scattered sand harmlessly behind them as Aggron continued his charge.

The wayward horns finally made their way back to earth, hurtling from above to drive through the tanuki’s body again before embedding themselves in the earth to either side of the great beast. It screamed as the force of the blow drove it back to the ground as more devastating holes were rent in its flesh.

Shortly after the scream died down Aggron reached his target and, with a mighty bellow, crashed into the One-tailed beast with mountain-shattering force. Reto heard the sound of splintering bone – or whatever stood in place of bone within the tanuki’s body – and the deafening roar of a waterfall as sand exploded on impact, the beast’s physical body breaking terribly as it was hurled back to tumble and catapult through the sand.

It did not even scream.

Aggron’s shoulders opened as he retreived his horns, pulling them from the ground to be placed into the compartments hidden under his shoulder armor. Once in place the armor closed and the horns drove forward to resume their position protruding through Aggron’s skull plate.

“The beast should yet live; There is still a mountain of chakra emanating from where it fell. It will recover, but it should not be capable of movement for several hours. Any sealing you do should be simple from here.” Reto nodded at the massive pokemon’s evaluation.

“Thank you, Lord Aggron. You have been an enormous help, and if ever there is something I can do for you, do not hesitate to call upon me.” He leapt from the great skull and landed lightly on the sand, turning to look up at his ultimate summons. He received a nod in return.

“It was my pleasure. It is far too uncommon for me to find a foe worthy of my strength that I am actually allowed to fight. Take care, Reto-kun.” The kazekage smiled as his summons disappeared in a whirl of smoke, wind rushing inward to fill the vacuum left by the sudden absence of its massive size.

Shamon met him as he walked toward where the tanuki had fallen, a large urn in his arms. “That is to be the beast’s container?” His successor nodded.

“It will suffice. Perhaps in the future we can take after the other great nations and find a Jinchuriki for the beast. But until then, this will contain it.” Reto nodded.

“Very well.” They came upon the broken form of the tanuki, and stared in awe at its massive form, silent and still but for a very faintly rattling breath. The ritual to seal it would take only as long as Shamon required to paint the seals on scrolls and lay them over the tanuki’s massive body. A series of hand seals and a few drops of blood would activate the sealing scrolls and the beast’s massive presence and chakra would be transferred into the urn, held prisoner inside until the day they needed it.

“Let us begin.”


	2. Shikamaru

Careful feet avoided the fallen leaves and twigs that lay illuminated on the ground by the moonlight filtering through summer boughs.[ Shikamaru](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Shikamaru_Nara), only ten years old, was practicing for his stealth exam coming up next week at the ninja academy. He and the rest of his class would be taken out to the forest surrounding Konoha and, one at a time, tested on how far they could travel through the woods without making a sound. If they failed to travel at least a hundred meters, they would fail the test and have to do it all over again the next week.

Of course, Naruto would fail at least twice.

Shikamaru shook his head and refocused on his footsteps. He crept through the trees on his family’s estate, striving for silence as he made his way toward where he knew a family of [Sawsbuck](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/sawsbuck.jpg) liked to frolic. They would likely be asleep, but if he could spot them and make his way around without waking the pokemon, then he knew he could pass the upcoming exam.

The clearing came into view and he could see two adult Sawsbuck sleeping, as well as four young [Deerling](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/deerling.jpg). The pokemon knew the Nara family and were friendly toward them, so Shikamaru knew that even if he failed at being silent, the deer would never hurt him. A few steps into the clearing however, Shikamaru paused.

Floating near one of the Deerling was an unfamiliar shape. Its features were hidden in shadow, but he could tell that it was not human. Creeping closer allowed him to see a faint red glow emanating from the Deerling, thin tendrils connecting it to the strange shape. The strange figure was very small, maybe half a meter tall from the bottom of its floating form to the top; Shikamaru could handle it.

Forming the Rat Sign with his hand, Shikamaru focused his chakra and extended his shadow forward toward the sleeping Sawsbuck, their large shadows making an advantageous connection for him to use. Despite their rarity, Shikamaru thought that this unknown invader was likely one of the weaker ghost type pokemon. If he was right, then he could deal physical damage to the being with his Shadow Possession Jutsu. If not, then he could control it. Either way, this would be a simple altercation.

“Yin style: Shadow Strike!” he thought to himself, guiding his chakra down the proper channels. A dark fist burst silently from the shadow of a sleeping Sawsbuck, lancing forward and striking the small figure. It let out a wail of surprise as it was thrown back, the noise jolting the deer pokemon to alertness. Shikamaru released his shadow jutsu and stole quietly toward the ghost pokemon, ignoring the Sawsbuck and Deerling as they leapt to their hooves and bolted from the clearing.

The small figure remained completely motionless on the ground where it had fallen. Unable to use too much more chakra, Shikamaru pulled out a kunai and crept toward the small creature. As he got closer the light of the moon threw the details of the being into stark relief. It truly was a small creature, a light, wispy body extending down from what looked to be a small tree stump. A tickle passed through Shikamaru’s brain and he recalled a pokemon that matched the details of the creature before him.

[Phantump](http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/7/72/708Phantump.png/250px-708Phantump.png). It was a ghost-grass pokemon, one of the only known cases of plant possession. They were normally quite timid and rarely ventured into places where people could be encountered. They had very little offensive capability, and survived by leeching chakra from others at night while they slept.

What was one doing in Konoha?

The little pokemon stirred as Shikamaru knelt down beside it. If it had been trying to leech seed a sleeping Deerling, there was no way this little Phantump would pose a threat to him. He set a hand on its stump head as it woke up, its wispy body shivering before rising slightly off the ground. Pinpricks of red light grew in the holes in the stump, most likely its version of opening its eyes. The little body wriggled in alarm when it saw Shikamaru, but the young ninja had a hold of one of the little horns that projected from its head.

“Hey, hey! Calm down.” He soothed, dropping his kunai and holding up his free hand. He then held that hand out to the little pokemon and focused on pushing some chakra to the surface of his skin, a faint blue glow growing from his palm. The pinpricks of red grew larger and shifted from aiming at his face to aiming at his hand.

After a few seconds of internal debate the Phantump reached its arms forward and wrapped them around Shikamaru’s hand, draining the free chakra. There was no physical sensation, but the chakra visibly left his palm and flowed into the arms of the pokemon. It was an interesting phenomenon, the blue light of his own energy snaking through the Phantump’s arms toward its body, the light fading as it travelled until he could no longer trace the tendrils of energy through the ghost’s form. What struck Shikamaru as even more fascinating was the color of its eyes. After five seconds of it feeding, its eyes had faded to a reddish-purple color. A few more seconds saw them grow to a true purple, clearly at odds with the red they had been before.

By the time Shikamaru started to feel any fatigue from the drain on his chakra reserves, the eyes were a bright indigo color, more blue than purple now. Around the same time, the Phantump’s arms loosened their hold and the drain on his chakra stopped. He clearly had more energy than the little pokemon was capable of draining. The thought pleased him, because it meant that he could potentially keep it around without worrying about suffering too much for the sake of the bond.

Nodding to himself, Shikamaru lifted the stump by the horn, the pinpricks of light sharpening on his face. The ghostly body wriggled in the air but it did not put up a fight at being lifted. “Come on, then. Let’s go back to my house,” he announced before turning back to the forest.

“Phan?” The querulous voice was faint, barely on the edge of hearing. He felt it in his chakra more than his ears, causing a faint shiver to run down his spine. Shikamaru had never known any wild pokemon before except for the Sawsbuck, so the thought of training this one filled him with an excitement he rarely experienced.

“This should be interesting.”

***

Shikamaru trudged through the forest, feet dragging as he followed his father. He had become a Jounin shinobi only the day before, and Shikaku had informed him that attaining that rank earned him the right to learn the Nara clan’s final jutsu.

“I still don’t know why we have to walk through this forest for me to learn the technique. Wouldn’t our complex back in Konoha have been secure enough?” Shikaku chuckled and cast a long-suffering gaze at his son.

“Well…Since we’re pretty far into these woods now, it should be safe enough.

“You know that we own this forest, right?” Shikamaru wondered at the abrupt subject change. His father continued unprompted. “Not Konoha, but the Nara’s. Our family owns this land, out here on the outskirts of what Konoha could even consider its territory.

“We use this forest exclusively for the purpose of this jutsu. You see, son, it’s not a ninjutsu technique I’m going to teach you. It’s a summoning jutsu.” Shikamaru’s eyes widened slightly at that. A summoning? He had not thought to ever contract a summons, except for Trevenant.

His pokemon companion had grown tired of constantly being left behind when Shikamaru went on missions. The humans ran too fast for it to keep up, especially once it grew large enough that Shikamaru could not easily carry it along. As a ghost pokemon, it had greater mental capabilities than other types of wild pokemon, so he had been able to teach it about summonings and had forged a contract with it.

“Can I hold more than one summoning contract? You know I have already signed with [Trevenant](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Trevenant_\(Pok%C3%A9mon\)).” His father nodded easily.

“If you had signed with one of the pokemon kingdoms, and gained access to all of the ninja therein, then we would have a slight problem. Because you have contracted only an individual, however, you can have many more. There is no established limit to the number of summons a shinobi can contract, however most are reluctant to allow multiple contracts. The fact that Trevenant is a ghost type makes it even more okay, because here you get the chance to sign with another ghost.

“Long ago, back when our clan was new, the ancestor of the Naras underwent a ritual upon his death. He was the progenitor of our shadow possession, and all of its derivatives. He wished to be of assistance to his kin even after death, so he had his soul bound.” Shikamaru remained silent and continued walking, his mind speeding forward and putting pieces into place.

“The ritual was imperfect, so his sense of identity and self were lost. You have heard tales of the pokemon known as Cofagrigus, yes?” Shikamaru nodded and his father continued. “The ritual enabled his soul, with its power and purpose intact, to possess the vessel he was buried in. He became Cofagrigus.”

“That’s who I’ll be contracting here?” Shikaku nodded.

“Cofagrigus is immensely powerful. He does not move very quickly, but if he can catch you, there are very few beings who can escape him. Once you sign the contract, we will teach you how best to utilize his skills.” Shikamaru nodded again. His heart rate picked up as they broke into a clearing.

A huge mausoleum dominated the otherwise verdant space.

***

Shikamaru ran through the forest, suppressing his rage and maintaining his chakra as it flowed across his shadow, binding the fiend [Hidan](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Hidan) to him. The two of them ran, putting as much distance between the others as he possibly could. With his team mates distracting – and hopefully killing – Kakuzu, he could safely handle the immortal scythe-wielder without interruption.

Once he determined they were far enough away from anyone else, Shikamaru slowed to a stop and turned to face Hidan.

“Have you finally decided that running around is pointless and you should give up? You can’t kill me.” His face remained grim at the taunting. He shook his head and formed his hands into a short chain of seals.

“Secret Ninja art: Shadow Mummification.” He muttered to himself, uncaring that Hidan’s hands had woven the same symbols. He would need to channel his chakra correctly for the signs to achieve the same effect. As it was, the shadow holding Hidan captive sprouted thin tendrils that began to wind upward around his body, crossing over one another and covering him in shadow. They tightened as they wove, tearing him free of the position mimicking Shikamaru and holding him prone, arms bound to his sides and feet held together.

“What are you playing at?” The man’s eyes were curious; unafraid due to his perceived immortality, but he did not know what was happening or how he would get out of this bind.

“You’re right: I can’t kill you.” He then bit his own thumb and pressed his palm to the ground. “Summoning jutsu!” Chakra flowed out of him and into a summoning seal that appeared on the ground. Mist rose up all around them in lieu of the typical puff of summoning smoke. He knew when Hidan recognized the concentration of unfamiliar chakra gathering behind him. “But he can.”

Out of the mist a large sarcophagus had materialized. Polished gold adorned most of its surface, with various precious gems and paints giving color to the features on the headdress and face. Dark limbs protruded from the coffin, reaching out slowly toward Hidan as it floated forward.

“[Great Cofagrigus](https://img.ifcdn.com/images/fbde0ca2cbd3da91674640b40bc405bc6560a8803a6e01178cb5e5dc34f2a98e_1.jpg),” Hidan’s eyes widened at the name, “Please accept this tribute. He has attained a twisted form of immortality that only your great power can correct. He has cast a stain on the world by aiding the Akatsuki, and killed countless innocents. He butchered my teacher.”

“No. No, you can’t be serious! How did you contract a Cofagrigus?!” Shikamaru ignored Hidan’s cries and focused a tiny amount of chakra to hold the shadow binds restraining the man.  “You can’t put me in there!”

The coffin clicked and its face swung outward, revealing darkened innards that would not be penetrated by the mottled light filtering through the trees and fog. Shikamaru had learned that that darkness was a portal directly to the afterlife. Anyone that Cofagrigus sealed inside of his coffin would be converted into pure chakra, which the pokemon guardian would store and use to become more powerful. No one really knew what happened after death, but there was one thing that was certain:

There was no returning from a Cofagrigus. Records he had obtained told him that even the forbidden Impure World Reincarnation kinjutsu could not retrieve a soul devoured by Cofagrigus.

“The target is accepted.” The deep, ghostly voice whispered through their minds more than the air. Shikamaru suppressed a shiver as the words passed over him. Hidan began to struggle in earnest against the bonds holding him. Cofagrigus reached out with its transparent limbs and wrapped them around the Akatsuki member.

“No! No!! Let me go! Jashin! Great lord Jashin, save me! Don’t let me go! Please! I can perform so much more devestation in your name! No!”

Shikamaru watched and maintained his hold over the Shadow Mummification until Cofagrigus’ lid clicked shut. Hidan’s screams could still be heard through the metal, and the occasional thud could be heard as he banged on the inside of the lid.

“Remember, Shikamaru,” Cofragrigus deep voice caressed his mind once again, “A shrine to Hidan must be made within my home. Respects must be paid to the dead, no matter how vile they lived.” Shikamaru nodded.

“When we take them from the families who would mourn them, it becomes our duty to see them remembered.” He recited the words his father had spoken to him when he was first introduced to Cofagrigus. The dark limbs disappeared inside the sarcophagus and its form began to lose substance. After a few seconds it was completely gone and the mist too was fading.

Shikamaru stepped forward and lifted Hidan’s scythe from where it had fallen to the ground. He was already in the forest that housed Cofagrigus’ mausoleum; he could take the scythe and Hidan’s picture from his bingo book and make the shrine now. Get it over with.

He needed to mourn Asuma-sensei without being bothered by Hidan hanging over his head. ~~~~

**Author's Note:**

> So I actually don't have a true storyline I want to pursue with this, so for now these are just worldbuilding. If anyone has ideas for something they want to see, or a plot they want me to explore as it could be in this world, let me know! I'll definitely pump something out if I have a direction!


End file.
